Cleaning scratched crystal

TedR

Any ideas on getting a badly scored crystal cleaned up, or possibly replaced?

Its a Mondaine watch that I gave as a gift a few years back, the glass (acrylic I guess) is badly marked and scratched. I just took it back and had a good old go with Polywatch, but didnt really make much impression.

I wonder would would one of those buffing tools on a drill do a job?

I think it probably is too far gone and needs replacement, but not sure who could do that in Dublin these days.

Im sure Weirs would take it, but I suspect thats a few weeks gone, and a hefty price on a watch that isnt that expensive in the first place

thx

Depending on the hardness of the crystal and depth of scratches, you might need diamond paste and a lot of elbow grease. Modern crystals can be very hard (ie difficult to remove material) and if your crystal is heavily scratched a replacement is usually the better option.

Any good watchmaker should be able to replace it for you. It might be cheaper if you sourced the crystal online yourself and asked them to fit it. You could also upgrade to a sapphire crystal while you're at it, it would be less scratch prone.

Wibbs

If Polywatch didn't do much it sounds like it's not acrylic. I'd avoid buffing tools like a Dremel or the like. Very strong possibility of creating hot spots in the crystal and if it is glass shattering is not unlikely. As T notes you can get some grinding pastes for glass but again care is needed and a lot of elbow grease.

TedR

Thx
According to Mondaine website its a mineral glass. I think its a replacement job myself.
Any ideas, outside of Weirs ( I'm just assuming they would send it away, pricy)
Maybe ill try Dawson Watches.

Any watchmaker would do it, you might have to wait while they source the crystal.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68109514#post68109514

It's not impossible to remove scratches and polish a mineral crystal, just difficult and time consuming. A mineral crystal is usually in the €5-15 range so for a heavily scratched watch I would just replace it.

You can get sapphire crystals for €20-40 ... ordinarily I wouldn't put one in an inexpensive watch but if you're replacing the crystal anyway it's something to consider. Sapphire is extremely scratch resistant.

(these prices refer to sourcing it yourself, a watchmaker will surely have a markup)

TedR

Its the watchmaker part that I dont know, if someone has a recommendation please throw it out there

As I say, Im assuming Weirs most expensive and slowest, maybe thats unfair
FastFix places... not convinced by them, had them look at watches before

Im leaning to going into Dawson Watches, unless someone knows a better option, ill let you know how that goes

Realistically I am not going to do this job myself

ronancremin

I used sandpaper followed by Cerium Oxide (you can buy it on Adverts for about €10) to restore a very badly scratched mineral crystal on a 1970's Seiko to near-new condition. You could barely see through it when I started, no visible scratches after. Used a Dremel-like drill with a felt tip, took about 15 minutes. With a bit more time I think you could make it flawless. Just make sure to keep everything from getting too hot.

TedR

Just an update, and I see quite a few other threads/posts looking for repair advice, water damage etc

I came across some info about Ballsbridge Jewellers, suggesting they have a proper workshop... I dont live far from there, so I dropped in.

Seem like good people, very friendly and prompt service, they changed the crystal out on the Mondaine for me which looks brand new again, and it wasnt expensive

I asked if they can do services on automatics/chronos etc, or trouble shoots, and they say no problems.. I have a Tag H Carrera with a sticky notchy crown, so I might throw that in to see how it goes
The lads there said they dont do any work without pre clearing costs for parts etc with the owner first

Anyway, for what its worth, they seem like an option for local service work, seems to be quite an old school craftsman type place

PS. disclaimer, I have no connection to this business, just live nearby :-)